Report: Rockets' forward 'attracting interest from' Phoenix Suns ahead of trade deadline

Houston Rockets forward Jae'Sean Tate "is attracting interest from the likes of" the Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics, per The Athletic's "league sources."

Kelly Iko, Shams Charania and Sam Amick also wrote that Tate "is movable" when discussing trade options for the Houston Rockets in their piece titled 'How the Rockets rebuild is accelerating ahead of schedule — with Houston star hunting at the trade deadline.'

Of course, the Suns do not have any stars on the block, but there has been noise about potentially moving off of forward Nassir Little.

While Little may not carry high value due to his minimal role with the team to this point in the season (13.9 minutes per game), Tate likely won't require immense value in return. While Tate is shooting 47.6% from the field on the year, he is also shooting just 29.2% from deep and 71.4% from the stripe. Averaging just 4.7 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, 1.1 assists per game and 0.7 steals per game -- it won't require much to make a move for Tate at this time.

Perhaps the Suns see Tate as a player who needs a change of scenery to get back to the player he was in the beginning of his career. In his first two seasons in the league, he averaged 11.6 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds per game and 1.1 steals per game.

Still, when the Suns' only reported trade chip that they are willing to part with is Little, things are complicated. Little is only scoring 4.6 points per game this season with 2.3 rebounds per game. While Tate's defensive rating sits at just 113, Little's is worse at 117.

The Suns do, however, have multiple second-round picks that they could also trade. The Suns have been reportedly interested in an athletic wing at the trade deadline (per Chris Haynes of TNT). Perhaps they see the former first-round pick and 2020-2021 All-Rookie selection in Tate as a piece who fits that bill.

Phoenix is currently sitting at No. 6 in the Western Conference, and 27-20 on the year. They are six games out of first place, as they have underachieved on the season to this point. The Rockets are on the outside looking in on the play-in tournament, as they are a half game out of 10th place in the West after a 22-24 start to their 2023-24 campaign.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rockets SF/PF 'attracting interest from' Phoenix Suns before deadline